Painted-Face Mountain Monkey

Suddenly, a fist-sized stone came hurtling down at Jiang Ruoyun's face from above.

"Watch out!" Lu Feng shouted, grabbing Jiang Ruoyun and pulling her back several quick steps.

That sudden handhold made Jiang Ruoyun blush, but she had no time to dwell on it. She turned her gaze toward where the stone had come from.

A mountain monkey was climbing a large tree in the distance. It had been this monkey that had thrown the stone at them.

Jiang Ruoyun stared at the mountain monkey in surprise, and her estimation of Lu Feng rose a few notches as well. She was astonished by how sharp his senses were. Had he not reacted in time, she would likely have been knocked unconscious by that stone.

"What kind of monster is that?" Jiang Ruoyun cried out.

The mountain monkey clinging to a distant branch was covered in a layer of grayish-white fur. The top of its head was completely bald, and its face was extremely strange: a bright red nose, finger-length sharp fangs, and furious "chitter-chitter" roars that sounded from time to time. It looked exceptionally violent.

Its curved, sharp claws gripped the vines on the tree as it constantly swung and leaped about. It was also weighing a fist-sized stone in its hand, ready to hurl it at Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun at any moment.

"A Painted-Face Mountain Monkey. It likes to throw stones to attack its enemies," Lu Feng warned after recognizing the spirit beast.

"A first-rank spirit beast?!" Upon hearing the monster's name, Jiang Ruoyun recalled some records about it from books. This mountain monkey was actually a first-rank spirit beast.

Painted-Face Mountain Monkeys were far more savage than tigers and wolves. With thrown stones, they could easily kill a fully grown tiger or leopard.

"Whoosh..."

Another stone fell from the sky. Both the force behind it and its speed were terrifyingly powerful; it smashed into a tree and left a deep crater.

Lu Feng sensed the power contained within it. It was no less than forty Stones of Strength. If one took it head-on, death or crippling injury would be inevitable.

"It's too nimble up in the trees. I can't hit it at all!" Jiang Ruoyun said angrily, brandishing her long whip. She had lashed out several times just now, but every strike had missed.

Aside from the terrifying stones it threw, the Painted-Face Mountain Monkey itself was also swift and agile. It could leap down from the tree, pick up a stone, then leap back up and conceal itself again in the time it took to blink.

Prey entangled by a Painted-Face Mountain Monkey rarely escaped alive.

"When it comes down next time, distract it," Lu Feng said as he drew his bow and nocked a sharp arrow.

"Alright." Cooperating with him, Jiang Ruoyun lashed her whip toward where the mountain monkey was descending.

Seeing the long whip coming straight at it, the mountain monkey froze for a moment before dodging Jiang Ruoyun's attack with a leap and a flash.

At that instant, Lu Feng seized the opportunity. The arrow left the string and shot toward the mountain monkey.

To avoid Jiang Ruoyun's whip, the mountain monkey had leaped off the ground. Hanging in midair, it was caught in an awkward position. No matter what, it could not evade Lu Feng's ingenious arrow.

A trace of delight appeared in Jiang Ruoyun's eyes. As long as Lu Feng's arrow struck true, the mountain monkey would certainly be unable to escape the long whip's second attack.

There was nowhere to evade.

At the critical moment, the mountain monkey actually flung out the stone it had only recently picked up, hurling it toward Lu Feng.

"Clang..."

The two stared in astonishment. The stone in the mountain monkey's hand had struck down Lu Feng's flying arrow with perfect accuracy, breaking the dead end.

In the blink of an eye, the mountain monkey picked up another stone and climbed back into the tree, letting out even louder "chitter-chitter" cries. It had clearly been enraged.

Lu Feng was somewhat dazed. He had been absolutely certain of that arrow, yet this was the outcome. Somewhat shaken, he replayed the scene in his mind.

"Speed, force... if it had been faster, if the force had been greater..." Lu Feng pondered, but he understood in his heart that with the strength he currently possessed, this speed and force were already his limit.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

After climbing the tree, the mountain monkey threw stone after stone. Lu Feng used Exquisite Steps to dodge nimbly and remained completely unhurt, but Jiang Ruoyun looked rather bedraggled.

Though her long whip shattered the stones thrown by the mountain monkey, she was struck by several small fragments and suffered minor injuries.

"I'll restrain it. Fall back and find an opening to whip it," Lu Feng signaled. Then he drew his bow again. This time, however, he nocked two arrows.

This was not Lu Feng's first time drawing two arrows at once. He had tried it back when he hunted with Huo Gen in Worryfree Village. Although he still had not figured out what had happened with those memories, the archery techniques he had learned were undeniably real.

Just as the mountain monkey raised its hand to throw another stone, Lu Feng released the bowstring. The two arrows shot straight toward the monkey's shoulder and leg. If it continued throwing, that brief pause would surely prevent it from dodging one of the arrows.

Before the arrows even arrived, Lu Feng had already swiftly changed direction. He then fired another two arrows in rapid succession. Unlike the first two, these were not aimed at the mountain monkey's current position. Instead, they sealed off its path forward and back—two arrows fired with prediction.

The mountain monkey was, after all, a first-rank spirit beast with rudimentary intelligence. Even as the four arrows came streaking toward it, it did not stop its rhythm of throwing. It first hurled the stone in its hand at Jiang Ruoyun, then twisted aside to dodge Lu Feng's first two arrows.

The speeding arrows grazed the mountain monkey's shoulder, leaving a bloody mark, but they did not injure its bones. It had actually evaded Lu Feng's deadly two arrows with the slightest of wounds.

It then leaped down to pick up more stones, only to find Lu Feng's latter two arrows already upon it. Its path downward was sealed, and as it dodged, the mountain monkey fell from the tree.

At that very instant, Jiang Ruoyun ignored the incoming stone. She twisted and rolled sideways, sweeping her long whip diagonally to entangle the mountain monkey's hind claw.

"Throwing stones at me, are you? Let's see if I don't whip you to death!" Jiang Ruoyun shouted with a fierce, spoiled air.

"Chiya..." The mountain monkey let out an enraged roar.

Seeing this, Jiang Ruoyun did not continue holding her whip and wait for the enemy to approach. Instead, she swiftly drove the whip's handle into the earth, then pressed a huge rock down on top of it with her palm.

After landing, the mountain monkey charged furiously toward Jiang Ruoyun. Just as it was about to strike her, it felt a tremendous pull from its hind leg, which was wrapped in the long whip. Its entire body was flung backward.

What threat could a mountain monkey with its movements restrained possibly pose? Lu Feng stepped forward and swiftly put it down with an arrow, giving it the easiest death possible. After handling it briefly, he gestured for Jiang Ruoyun to store it in her Storage Ring.

"No, you keep it for me first. It's covered in blood—too dirty." Jiang Ruoyun took several steps back, leaving the mountain monkey's corpse for Lu Feng to handle.

Lu Feng smiled helplessly and stored it in his Storage Ring. There had originally been nothing in the ring's space, so it was perfectly suited for holding the beast's body now.

"Come, let me ease the bruise on your hand." Lu Feng took Jiang Ruoyun's hand. Before she could refuse, he had already lifted her fair wrist and gently pressed his fingertips against the bruise on her snow-white, tender skin, slowly guiding spiritual energy through it.

A flush appeared on Jiang Ruoyun's face. Instinctively, she wanted to pull her hand away, but then she remembered that he had already held it once before the fight. Holding it again now should not mean anything.

Moreover, warmth spread from the bruise and made her feel extremely comfortable. She could not help but stop fidgeting and let Lu Feng hold her hand.

"Do you ever feel guilty when you kill spirit beasts?" Jiang Ruoyun casually asked, trying to distract herself.

Lu Feng paused, seemingly not understanding why Jiang Ruoyun would ask such a question, but he still replied, "Whether humans or beasts, none can escape the essence of the strong devouring the weak. Only the fit survive. Take this mountain monkey—if we had not killed it today, do you think it would have spared us?"

"To us, it was prey. But to it, were we not prey as well? The mountain monkey's savagery goes far beyond this. Who knows how many humans it has killed in the dark of night? Killing one might save some people."

Listening to Lu Feng, Jiang Ruoyun's sense of guilt lessened considerably. She asked, "Then what about creatures that aren't dangerous?"

Lu Feng was amused by Jiang Ruoyun's innocence and smiled. "If they aren't dangerous, why consider what to do at all?"

Jiang Ruoyun realized her question seemed rather unreasonable and laughed awkwardly. Under Lu Feng's treatment, the bruise on her hand had also improved greatly.

After clearing away the traces of battle, Lu Feng retrieved the arrows that could still be used, and he and Jiang Ruoyun continued onward.

"It's getting late. If we still can't find a spirit beast, let's head back and come again tomorrow," Jiang Ruoyun said after glancing at the gradually darkening sky.

Just as Lu Feng was about to nod in reply, he noticed something unusual and said, "Careful. It seems we're being watched."

As soon as Lu Feng finished speaking, three Soul Masters dressed in black suddenly appeared in the distance. Their faces were all covered with black cloth, making their features impossible to see.

The leader leered at Jiang Ruoyun. "Young Maiden, what are you doing in this desolate wilderness? Why not come have some fun with us?"

Before the three black-clad men could approach, Lu Feng shot an arrow at them, targeting the man who had spoken so rudely.

A flash of disdain passed through the black-clad man's eyes. He easily dodged with a sidestep, and that movement revealed his cultivation.

"Five-Souls Realm!"

"They mean no good. Retreat..."

Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun reacted at once. Realizing the vast gap between themselves and their enemies, they immediately ran deeper into the mountain forest together.

They could not contend with even one Five-Souls Realm expert, much less the remaining two black-clad men.

Other than running, they had no choice.

Fortunately, the black-clad men were not particularly fast. Coupled with Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun's decisive reaction, they managed to put a considerable distance between them for the moment.

"What do we do?" Jiang Ruoyun panted, looking somewhat panicked.

"Running deeper may give us a sliver of hope. Turning back would be dangerous."

Lu Feng made his decision without hesitation. Though he had a fifty percent chance of wounding the three with a surprise attack using his archery, failure might implicate Jiang Ruoyun. Thus, he chose to withdraw first.